Werewolf: A World at War Novel (World at War Online Book 4) (12 page)

Nora frowned. “Part of our force isn't.”

“What, Thorn and Myrmidon?” Zach asked.

“Yeah, and we don't exactly have the greatest knowledge of their abilities. Don't get me wrong, having almost one hundred extra troops is great. But from what I can tell, they have no experience with street fighting.”

“But we do,” Zach said. “All of our battalion does, and we can do it well. We'll be fine.”

“It sucks not having Sacred Sword or Marauder to rely on,” Nora said.

Indeed, Zach thought to himself. It was often easy to forget that the Hydra Alliance functioned as a whole, not as just a conglomeration of parts stuck together. They succeeded because they had synergy, and that synergy might not be there with Thorn and Myrmidon.

Then again, maybe it would develop given time. Spectre Company's integration had been rocky, but now they functioned as well as any other part of Ghost Battalion. And they didn't necessarily need to be used on the front lines, either. Anna was considering using them as a reserve force, or having them bottle up the enemy troops near the wall. That role wouldn't require much maneuvering or street fighting savvy.

“We'll make due,” Zach said. “We always have.”

“What are we doing afterward?” Nora asked.

“Hmm? After which thing?”

“After taking the city.”

“We haven't thought that far ahead yet,” Zach said. “First we have to get our hands on the place. We're going to start raiding Ragnarok's rear areas, of course.”

Nora couldn't quite hide a smile. “Going in without a plan? That's not much like us at all. Usually we spend hours and hours trying to get something prepared.”

“Wait, which time are you talking about?” Zach asked her. “We come up with plans on the fly all the time. Our whole schtick is improvisation.”

“We've improvised when our plans went to pieces,” she pointed out. “But we had solid plans in place before they went down in flames. We just had to modify them on the fly a lot, while we were getting shot at or chopped in half.”

“Not always,” Zach said.

“Name one time.”

“The first time we did recon around Lerna Bastion,” Zach offered. “We really didn't have that much of a plan then.”

“Didn't you get shot?”

“OK, maybe that's a bad example.”

“No kidding.”

“OK, what about the tunnel recon in Indianapolis?”

“What, the one where you got chopped in half by the giant chilus? Are you noticing a common theme here?” Nora asked him.

“We need to plan?”

“Yeah, or people die. Or maybe it's just you who dies, who knows?” Nora shrugged. “I still think we should have a plan in place for once we take the city. Maybe a couple different ones, to account for different scenarios.”

“When are we going to come up with them?” Zach asked.

“Hopefully before we launch the attack, otherwise it's not going to do us much good,” Nora shrugged.

“That's in two days,” Zach pointed out. “Does that really give us enough time, or are we going to end up sacrificing date night again?”

Nora frowned. “We should be able to get it done before tomorrow night.”

“But if we don't?”

“We will.”

“Come on, you're dodging the question,” Zach said.

Nora gave him an annoyed look. “I think we can get it done by tomorrow night. It shouldn't be that complicated, anyhow. We're just going to try to figure out the best routes to use based on the info from Thorn and Myrmidon. But if we don't, then that's fine. We'll take a break and deal with it at a later time. Do the others have plans?”

“I've heard Danny mention something,” Zach said, “but honestly, I'd rather have date night with you.”

“Better not say that out loud to them,” Nora said with a smile.

“Well, sorry, but basketball doesn't sound like it'll be quite as much fun.”

“Basketball?” Nora asked. “They're going to do that again?”

“Yeah.”

“That seems to be turning into our pre-battle ritual,” she said.

“It does,” Zach agreed. “Ritual, though? What, our warrior cult involves basketball?”

Nora laughed. “It sounds so ridiculous when you say it like that.”

“Maybe it is,” Zach said. “Maybe we're taking this all a bit too seriously.”

“Maybe some of the others, but we're getting paid a ton of money to do this,” Nora said. “I think that gives us some leeway to be really invested in what we do.”

“True. But still, rituals?”

“It's not like they've completely disappeared from existence,” Nora shrugged. “One of my history professors pointed out that the Marine Corps is effectively a warrior cult, and that's what makes them so effective. They have specific traditions and rituals, and they have initiation rights.”

Zach thought about that and frowned. “That would make us a warrior cult too. We have our own initiation ritual, and we're creating some traditions.”

“The ranger challenge?”

“Yup.”

“More spillover from the real world, I guess,” Nora shrugged.

“Yeah,” Zach nodded, though the thought bothered him for some reason.

“We're all set,” Paige told them. Her crew were the last ones aboard the ship.

They had done a spectacular job getting it back into fighting shape. All of the weapons mounts had been repaired, along with the bridge and the engines. The ship itself sported a new name as well:
Charon
.

“Everything secure?” Zach asked.

“The suits and supplies are stowed in the hold, and everyone going north is on board,” she confirmed. “My squad is going to help with the machinery and that.”

“Ready for one of our grand adventures?” Nora asked.

Paige smiled nervously. “Yeah, I am. I hope we're useful.”

“You're always useful.”

“When everything goes wrong, I mean,” Paige clarified. “That seems to happen a lot around you guys.”

Zach suppressed a laugh. “Looking forward to your help.”

Charon
began to move away from its berth and into the open water. Zach watched the shoreline begin to fade into their distance. Their next big gambit was about to begin.

Nora tapped him on the shoulder. “Come on, we've got some planning to do.”

“Right,” Zach said. He followed her.

CHAPTER 11

The Battle of Green Bay

Bam! Bam! Bam!

A trio of mortar shots slammed into the shore ahead of them. Selene watched carefully through her binoculars, noting each impact. From what she could gather, they were landing right on one of the enemy antiaircraft positions.

That was the final obstacle, too. Once they were gone Raven Flight would have free reign over the beach, and could destroy most of the enemy positions before Black Wolf started their attacks. Or, at least that was the theory.

Most of the enemy defenses were above ground, encased in sandbags, but there was a particular stretch of beach covered by a trench with several machine gun nests. Selene wasn't certain that Raven Flight could destroy them, and that meant her troops might have to storm them head on.

She didn't relish that thought. Even with all their skill, Black Wolf was at a major disadvantage if they had to cross an open beach against heavy automatic fire. They had the mortars and the main gun of
Charon
, but if those failed they might be in serious trouble.

BAM!

An explosion went off along the beach, and something shot sky high.
Charon
was making its presence known.

This attack would be very different than any other. Normally Zach took direct control of the battle, but he was on
Charon
at the moment, observing and making adjustments. Nora was in the second wave and had command of Hoplite Platoon. That meant command of Black Wolf effectively fell on her and Danny, and they needed to have clear lines of communication during the battle.

Danny had deferred to her leadership during the battle, which she was thankful for. Selene didn't think there would be any major disagreements, but if there were they needed to be able to act quickly and decisively. They couldn't do that if they were arguing, so it was only natural to pick one leader. And anyhow, there wasn't much else to the decision. Both of them knew that they were effectively equal.

Selene activated her radio. “Bravo Wolf, come in.”

“I hear you, Alpha Wolf,” Danny responded. “What's up?”

“Looks like they're finishing off the antiaircraft defenses, which means Raven's going to start making their attack runs. How confident are you feeling?”

“You mean how long do we want to wait before we start our approach?” Danny asked her.

“Right, that.”

“Robbie told me that it would take about two minutes to get from the staging point to the beach,” Danny said. “I think that Raven Flight can make several more attack runs while we're closing, but we should defer to their judgment.”

“I agree,” Selene said. “I'll get in touch with them. Stay on the channel.”

“Right.”

Selene opened up her menu and added Robbie and Blake to the conversation. “Raven 1, Raven 2, come in.”

“Copy,” Blake said.

“Copy as well. What do you need?” Robbie asked.

“We're trying to figure out when we're going to make our final run toward the beach,” Selene said. “Can you alert us when you think you're ready?”

“How do you want to play it?” Blake asked back. “I don't think we should make more than two or three runs beforehand. Otherwise, we run the risk of running out of ammunition, and then your close air support is gone.”

“You might also want to ask for some fire support from the navy and the artillery,” Robbie suggested.

“That'll take too long,” Selene said.

“Then we'll make two runs and then circle above while you guys land. We'll try to pick off anything that looks threatening, but be aware that we can't be everywhere at once,” Robbie said.

“I have full faith in you guys,” Selene said.

“So, two runs and we head for the beach,” Danny asked.

“Yeah, we'll signal you when we're ready,” Robbie said.

“Right.”

Selene looked back over at the beach. More mortar fire began to fall, closer this time. Something blew up.

And then Raven Flight zoomed overhead.

“The last antiaircraft defenses around the beach have been suppressed,” Anna said. She looked over the map sitting in the middle of the table. “Raven will be making their attack runs starting now.”

Zach looked over the map as well. “Bravo Wolf goes in first, followed by Alpha Wolf. Then the second wave lands. Liz is in charge of Redd Foxx?”

“On the ground, yeah,” Anna told him.

“Then we have Barghest and Spectre landing in the third wave,” Zach said, going over the timing of the operation in his head yet again. “If the enemy presses us while we're still getting off the beach we might be in rough shape.”

“Not much we can do about that, since we don't have enough transports to do this in less than four waves,” Anna said. “We should be fine, especially with air support.”

They should be, Zach thought to himself. But still, he worried a bit. If they failed, then they had just cost the alliance valuable resources that could have been used in one of the more important theaters.

Dragon and Rogue had taken yet another district in Indianapolis after a bout of hard fighting. Knight Battalion continued to hold off Ragnarok at every turn. Now it was Ghost Battalion's turn to pull their weight.

“This is either going to be a masterstroke or a disaster,” Anna commented.

Zach looked over at her. “You're thinking that too?”

She nodded. “That seems to be our thing.”

“It makes sense,” Zach said. “We're facing a stronger enemy. We have to take risks if we want to stay ahead of Ragnarok.”

“I know. For once I'd like to be on the side of a crushing victory,” Anna said.

“We can only hope,” Zach said. “Maybe this will be the one.”

He stopped when he heard the signal. Raven Flight had finished their attack runs.

“So it begins,” Anna commented sardonically.

“So it does,” Zach replied. He looked down at the map, wondering what kind of reception awaited his troops.

The water splashed around Danny's waist as he leaped off the side of his transport. Not ideal, but it was better than being neck deep or drowning. He gripped his machine gun and started to make his way toward the shore.

A blizzard of lead filled the air, coming from both sides. Danny observed the markers on his map, courtesy of Raven Flight. They had managed to take out several machine gun nests, but there were three positions still intact.

The enemy in those nests fought back ferociously, laying down a hail of fire onto the oncoming troops. Danny saw two of his troops fall and another stagger.

But his own side was countering. The gunners on the boats were firing, trying their best to suppress the enemy gunners. And then something black swooped out of the sky.

A sound like tearing fabric filled the air, and the fire from one direction suddenly stopped. Danny had to tip his hat to Raven. Without them, Black Wolf probably would be getting slaughtered right now.

It still wasn't going to be easy. The trench needed to be stormed, and Danny held no illusions. Bravo Wolf was going to lose troops trying to take the position. But that was what they were meant to do.

He took it as a mark of confidence when Anna and Zach had selected Bravo Wolf to spearhead the attack into Green Bay. If they bogged down, the operation would stall and they probably would lose the battle.

They couldn't afford that scenario. Danny pushed himself ashore and toggled his radio on.

“Bravo Wolf! Storm that trench, and don't worry about organization! We'll deal with that later!”

He took shelter behind a steel hedgehog, put in place to defend against landing craft. Black Wolf had landed too far out for the obstacles to be effective, and now they would provide good cover for the advancing infantry.

Danny brought his machine gun up to bear and started firing. He didn't have a great view of the enemy position, but that hardly mattered at this point. He could see well enough to lay down bursts of fire that would suppress the enemy.

“Bravo 1, let's move!” he heard Xavier bark over the radio. A moment later they broke from cover and charged, heedless of the enemy waiting for them.

More guns started going off around him. Javy had moved Bravo 2 into position, and without a word had coordinated effective cover fire for Xavier's troops. Danny saw Bravo 3 begin to move out of the corner of his eye. They advanced in two fireteams, each providing cover and then leapfrogging the team in front of them.

His radio buzzed.

“Danny, we'll be there to reinforce you in about a minute,” Selene said.

Danny didn't even bother to look back at the lake. “Roger that. We're almost in the trench. Relatively light casualties.”

Just as he said that a bullet cracked by his head and he flinched. Another deflected off of the hedgehog he was sheltering behind with an audible clang. Maybe he had opened his mouth too soon.

He settled back down and began firing again. Danny wasn't a commander at this stage of the battle. It was up to the individual squad leaders to make their decisions and dictate the flow of the battle. Danny would do what he did best: operate as a heavy. He might not be able to command, but he could provide cover fire for his troops. If he had to expose himself to enemy fire in order to do so, then he would do it.

His belt ran dry just as Bravo 1 reached the lip of the trench. Danny started to load another belt, though by now his cover fire wasn't needed. He probably needed to move up to help clear the trench.

“We're in the trench, Bravo Wolf,” Xavier said over the radio. “Dang, did Raven do a number on this place.”

“How's opposition?” Danny asked. He finished loading his gun and broke from cover.

“Stubborn, but they can't stop us. There's bodies all of over the trench,” Xavier replied.

Someone cut in on their conversation. “Bravo 1, stop right before the next corner,” Blake said. “There's an enemy squad waiting for you there.”

“Will do,” Xavier said. “I'll try to get a grenade around the corner.”

“Don't bother,” Blake replied, and there was another sound like ripping fabric. “There, you should be clear.”

“Thanks, Raven 2,” Xavier said.

“Don't mention it. Let's grab this place.”

Danny closed the distance between his former cover and the trench and leaped inside.

Xavier had been correct. Danny landed on a body and nearly face-planted into the opposite wall of the trench. He caught himself and breathed a sigh of relief. No one had been around to see him make a fool out of himself.

Enemy bodies lay strewn about. He knelt by one to examine it. The enemy trooper was clearly a soldier, carrying an assault rifle, a pistol and several grenades. His gear was of good quality, and it looked well maintained. They reminded Danny of the troops from the Indianapolis garrison; well-armed, well-trained and smart. They were going to be tough to beat.

But still, all the training and equipment in the world couldn't save you from a rain of lead from above. Once again, air power was going to be their great equalizer.

Selene contacted him again. “We're landing.”

Danny stood up and waved them forward. “We're in the process of clearing out the trench. Send out the signal that we're ready for the next wave.”

“You're good to land,” Selene said over the radio.

Nora smiled to herself as the transport sped toward the shore, laden down with Hoplite Platoon. Normally Hydra's specialized transports could carry around thirty troops. They were slower than river craft, but they were far more efficient at moving things. In this case, though, the transport only had five troops aboard. That, and the exoskeletons.

Nora turned to her troops. “Get in your suits and power up. We'll get off once we reach the landing stage.”

“Can we get them wet?” Max asked.

“Hephaestus says yes,” Nora told him.

“Gosh, that'd be awful,” Will commented. “We'd have powered exoskeletons that couldn't take getting a bit of water on them? That's just ridiculous.”

“Right, but if it were true we'd have a useless hunk of junk, whether it was ridiculous or not,” Max said.

“Once we're ashore, we head to assembly area and then power down,” Nora said. “We'll stay there until we're called upon to do something.”

“That seems boring,” Justin said. “What's the point of being here if we're just going to sit around doing nothing like all of the other times?”

“We're going to be the breakthrough unit,” Nora replied. “And we need to conserve our energy. We don't have enough fusion batteries to waste it going after small targets. We have to hunt the big prey and take care of the really important problems.”

“Like the boss?” Terra asked.

Nora shrugged. “That's one plan.”

“It'll be better than trying to fight some of the bosses on foot, that's for sure,” Will said.